Milk delivery box



Sept. 22, 1936. J. A. HOPWOOD 2,055,350

MILK DELIVERY BOX Filed Jan. 5, 1955 Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 John 4. Hap wood2! 2/ I Q a INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Sept 22, 1936. J. A. HOPWOOD 2,055,350

MILK DELIVERY BOX Fil ed Jan. 5, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Job/74. Hopwoao ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 22, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 14 Claims.

This invention relates to delivery boxes and more particularly thoseused by retail milk dealers in the delivery of bottled milk to theultimate consumer.

Boxes of the character referred to'are generally constructed from woodand are of the slat type. They are provided internally with partitionwires which divide the interior of the box into a plurality ofcompartments in which the bottles are individually received, saidbottles being supported upon so called supporting wires which extendacross the box near the bottom thereof and on which the bottles rest.These supporting Wires, while relatively heavyand in the form of metalrods, require re-enforc'ement intermediate their ends, and thisisgenerally provided for by means of one or more transverse bracesthrough which the supporting wires extend in order to permit them tobetter carry the weight of the bottles' without sagging.

, One object of the present invention is to provide a novel andeificient form of brace for the said supporting wires and to soconstitute said brace that it will simultaneously serve the func: tionof a lower partition wire, whereby the necessity of a separate partitionwire in juxtaposition with the brace is rendered unnecessary. In theevent that a plurality of such braces are used, a correspondingnumber oflower partition. wires are dispensed with, so that in a twelvecompartmerit box,' the use of threesupporting braces obviatesthenecessity of using any transverse lower partition wires. The resultingstructure is unusually strong and at the same time is highly economicalbecause the necessity of lower partition wires is eliminated.

It has heretofore been proposed to utilize transverse braces for thesupporting wires by making such braces in the form of hangers suspended,

upon the lower partition wires, but such an arrangement necessitates alower partition wire for each hanger and consequently doubles upon theparts, andadds to the expense and weight of the box.

One object of the present invention, as stated, is to so constitute thetransverse braces that each serves the dual function of a braceandpartition wire, inthe interest of lightness and economy and withoutsacrificing strength.

Another feature of the present invention has to do primarily with thelower edge and corner construction of the box. Boxes of the kind hereinunder consideration are subjected to rough usage. They are thrown aboutcarelessly by drivers during the delivery of milk andat cream-- criesand depots, are handled on mechanical conveyors, slid along floors androughly thrown into the wagons, trucks and cars. This sort of treatmentis very apt to damage the lower edges of wooden boxes and producesplinters which interfere with their convenient handling. Accordingly,many retailers of milk require that theboxes which they use he providedwith armored lower edges, i. e., edges which are covered or sheathedwith metal in such a way as to adequately protect them in use. It isessential, however, that these lower edges be substantially flushthroughout, otherwise they'are apt to catch on floors or mechanicalconveyors.

With these considerations in mind, another object of the presentinvention is to provide an improved armor and shielding for the box andto so associate with this shielding a novel corner construction that thebox is effectually protected and shielded, not only at its lower edges,but at its corners in a way to fully protect the box against wear andhard usage and to render the same strong and rigid.

The details of this edge armoring and corner construction will behereinafter more fully described, but suflice it here to say that, inthe preferred practical embodiment of this invention, the box isprovided at its four corners with corner angles which enclose andconceal the joints between the slats of the sides and ends of the boxand, at its lower edges, is provided with substantially U-shaped stripswhich enclose the lower edges of the bottom slats, as wellas the lowertermini of the corner angles, and interlock with one another at the fourcorners of the box to provide a strong flush construction.

Features of. the invention, other than those adverted to, will beapparent from the hereinafter detailed description and claims, when readin conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one practical embodiment of theinvention, but the construction therein shown is to be understood asillustrative, only, and not as defining the limits.

Figure 4 is a fragmental view of one lower corner portion of the boxwith all reinforcement V omitted.

slit along the longitudinal medial lineof the strip. 3.5-;

posed slats I or 2 in succession and also through 5 55: lateral edges.

Figure 5 is a similar view showing the corner angle in place.

Figure 6 is a detail of the corner angle detached.

Figure 7 is a detail perspective of the armor construction adapted to beassociated with the lower edge of the box. Y

Figure 8 is a viewsimilar to Figures 4 and 5, but showing the armorstrips associated with the box.

Figure 9 is a section on the line 9 9 of Fig ure 8.

or it may have solid side and end walls, but, for the purpose ofillustration, I have shown this invention as incorporated in a slat boxconstrucassembled relation by means of corner angles 3 and tie rods 4.,One of the corner angles, is shown in detail in Figure 6. It is made ofsheet metal, the major portion of the length of which is bent at a rightangle to cover and conceal the joints between the slats of the sides andends of thebox. The opposite ends of the sheet metal strip from whichthe corner angle is formed are to formtongues 5 which are bent inoverlapping relation-to one another, asshown in Figure 6, andthese:tongues are adapted to overlie the upper and lower edges of thebox, so that the tie rods 4 may be passed through perforations 6 in thetonguesand through the several superimthe armoring strips, presentlydescribed, and headed over to secure the parts together.

At the lower edges ofthe box and at all of the four corners, the bottomslats in proximity to-the corners are cut out or recessed, as shown at1, so that the tongues 5 may be received in these recesses to suchextent that the outer surfaces of the tongues, as well as the woodenbottom edges. of the box will be substantially flush with one another.Over these bottom edges and over said tongues is next received strips 8shown in; detail-in. Figure 7. These strips are substantially U-shapedincross section. They have flat bottoms 9 with upstanding flanges ID attheir It should be noted that in Figure 7 they are shown as upside downtocorrespond with Figures 3x9, but in practice the strips 8 are placedprimarily .on the bottom edge of the box, sothat'the flanges I8 wouldnormally extend in an upward direction. The strips 8 preferably have anoverall width substantially equal to the thickness of the bottom slatsof the box and the lower margins of said slats are rabbeted, as shown atH, so that when the strips are in place on the box, the walls of ,suchbox will be flush inside and out. other words, the strips 8 preferablydo not project beyond the faces of the walls of the box, although. theymaydo so without departing The box of this invention may be a slat box"such miters, they are provided with projecting wings l2 offset in anupward direction as shown at I3, and so proportioned that when themiters are brought together, the wing [2 of one strip section willextend under the body of the next adjacent strip section and vice versa,so that there occurs an interlocking relation between each of the strips8 at each corner of the box which maintains the mitered edges in perfectalinement.

The strips 8 are moreover perforated, so that the tie rods 4 are adaptedto project therethrough and the perforations M, as well as theperforations 8 in the tongues, are countersunk, whereby,

- when the tie rods are headed over, the resulting heads will occupy thecountersunk space thus provided to bring such heads substantially flushwith the lower edge of the box, as shown in Figure 9.

As aresult of this construction, all four lower edges of the box arecovered and concealed throughout their entire lengths by the strips 8,mitered at the corners with flush joints to present a substantiallyplane surface at the lower edge of the box and the entire constructionis held together by means of the tie rods 4. If desired, the ends of allof the slats may be recessed to receive the corner angles 3 in order togive flush outer walls at thefourcorners of the box, but I do notconsider this necessary. However, when the corner angles are placedagainst the outer faces of the slats, they project the thickness of themetal and consequently the flanges ID of the armor strips 8 are flaredoutwardly at the corners as indicated at 18a to provide for theincreased dimension at these points.

Ordinarily the upperedges of the box do not require metal sheathingthroughout, although the.

box of this invention may be made with both its upper and lower edgesequipped with strips 8 in the manner described. For the purpose ofillustration, however, the upper edges are ,merely shown as provided attheir corners with corner caps l5, set in flush with the upper edges ofthe, box and with the inner and outer walls and the tie rods 4 extendthrough perforations in said corner caps and are headed over incountersunk perforations to provide a flush upper edge.

In this Way; the upper edges of the box at the corners are provided withappropriate wearplates, while the entire lower edge of the box iscovered by the sheathing strips 8 which efiectually serve the purpose ofwearplates and protect the lower edge not only from, wear, but fromsplitting, splintering and the like, the whole construction being heldtogether by the trle rods 4, as stated. The strips 8 have been describedas substantially U- shaped with fiat bodies 9 and right angularlydisposed flanges IO, althoughthe cross section of these strips or wearplates may be modified or varied without departing from this invention.

The interior of the box construction is best shown in Figures 1, 2 and3. V The box is provided across its bottom with parallel pairs ofsupporting wires I5, which extend through the bottom end bars and nearthe lower edges thereof and are headed over as indicated at E6 incountersunk holes, so as to provide a flush exterior to the box. Thesewires which run longitudinally of the box are relatively heavy, butnevertheless require support intermediate their ends in order toproperly carry the'weight of the bottles supported thereon.Consequently, I provide a transverse brace I? of novel and uniqueconstruction as shown. This brace is metallic and is in the form of astrap- It is made relatively wide and set. on edge as joints betweensidewand end walls and provided shown-and near its upper edge: isprovided at its oppositeends with ears lfl preferably bent in opposite.directions and secured by' rivets 119' to the bottom slat of the box.Each opposite bottom slat'is moreover rabbettednout toprovide a shoulder28 and. the ears rest upon these shoul-'- ders which ."form abutments..The supporting wires. t5 pass through perforations in and nearthe'lower edge of the brace l1 and the weight of these bottles istransferredt'o the brace and is in turn carried by the abutments 28, soas'to take the strain off the rivets. As a matter of fact, the rivets:IS merely serve tohold the brace'in position. The'actual weight iscarried by the abutments a a The box isprovided with upper partitionwires 2| which extend longitudinally and transversely of the box acrossthe interior thereof and divide the upper portion thereof intoCompartments to receive the bottles individually. Lower partition wiresalso extend longitudinally of the box, as indicated at 22, and passthrough perforations in the" brace i1." Lower transverse partition wires23 .are also provided in a box which has but a single brace H, but arenot required in proximity to the brace because the brace extendssufficiently high to serve in itself as a partition wire and in a twelvecompartment boxif three braces 11 are employed spaced respectively belowthe three I upper transverse partition wires 21, no lower partitionwireswillbe required as the braces will serve this function. In otherwords, the braces serveseveral functions; namely, they support thesupportng' wires I5; they act as stays for the 1ongitudinal lowerpartition wires 22, and they serve the purpose of the lower transverse.partition wires 23. In this way, avery strong construction results andall of the wires are braced as described. Furthermore, where a pluralityof such braces are used to take the place of the'lower transverse Wires,the necessity of independent wires oflthis character is eliminated' j iTo serve the purposes stated, the brace must be sufficientlydeep tofunction primarily as a lower partition wire and inpractice a sufiicientdepth is required to preclude the curved lower edge of the bottle fromslipping thereover. The lower edges of milk bottles are generally'curvedon an arc of approximately one-half inch, so that, in practice, the'braces H are preferably made to extend at least 21" above thesupporting wires l5, although I preferably make them extendaninch'above. A greater dimension may be availed of, but is unnecessary.The upper edges of thelbraces I! are preferably rounded support andrigidity not heretofore found in boxes of this kind. i

The foregoing detailed description sets forth the invention in itspreferred practical'form and the invention is to be understood :as fullycommensurate with the appended claims.

3 Having thus fully described the invention, whatl claim as new anddesire to secure by Let t'ers Patent is: i

1. A box of the character described comprising side and end wallsprovided at their lower edges and adjacent the four corners of the boxwith recesses, a corner angle at each of the four cortiers of theboxenclosing and concealing the at its, upper and lower edges with tonguesoverlying the upperandlower edges. of the box with the tongues at thelower edge housed in the recessesii therein to bring the exposed facesof the tongues flush with thelower edges of the box,;

wear strips in facial engagement with each or the lower edges of the boxtocover and protect the same against wear, with the wear strips at the.

sides and ends of the box .intcrfitting respectively with one another atthe four corners of the box to form flush joints, and means for securingsaid strips. and corner angles "to the walls of the box. 2. A box ofthecharacter described comprising side and end walls provided at theirlower edges and adjacent the four corners of the box with recesses, acorner angle at each of the four corners of the box enclosing andconcealing the joints between side and end walls and providedat itsupper and lower edges with tongues overlying the upper and lower edgesof the box with the tongues at the lower edge housed in the recessestherein to bring the exposed faces of the tongues flush with th'eloweredges of the box, wear strips in facial engagement with each of thelower edges of the box to cover and protect the same against wearywiththe wear strips at the sides and ends of the box interfittingrespectively with one another'at the four corners of the box to formflush joints, and tie rods extending through the walls' of the box,through the tongues of the cornerangles and through the wear strips tosecure all of said parts together. g

3. A box of the character described comprising side and end wallsprovidedat their lower edges and'adjacent the four corners of the boxwith recesses;: a' corner angle at each of the four corners of the boxenclosing and concealing the joints between side and end walls andprovided at its upper and lower edges with tongues overlying the upperand lower edges of thebox with the tongues at the lower edge housed inthe recesses therein to bring the exposed faces of the tongues flushwith the lower edges of the box, wear strips in facial engagement witheach of the lower edges of the box to cover and protect the same againstwear, with the strips at the sides and ends of the box i'nterfittingrespectively with one another at the four corners of the box to-formflush joints, and tie rods' extending throughthe walls of the box,through the tongues of the corner angles and through the wear strips tosecure all of saidparts together, two of said tie. rods being positionedadjacent each corner of the box and spaced from suchcorner.

4. A box of the character described comprising side and end wallsabutting at their ends to form the body of the box, a corner angle ateach of the four corners of the box overlying the corner of the box andoverlapping the upper and lower edges thereof, wear strips armoring thelower edges of the'four walls of the box with the strips of the side andend walls mitered with respect to one another at the four corners of thebox and extending for the full length and width of the box, and tie rodsextending vertically through the walls of the box and through the wearstrips and the'corner angles to secure the parts together.

5. A boxof th'e'character described comprising side and end wallsabutting at their ends to form the, body of the box, a corner angle ateach of the four corners of the box overlyingthe corner of the box andoverlapping the upper and lower edges thereof, wear strips armoring thelower edges of the four walls of the box with the strips one another at.the four corners ofthe box and extending for the full length and widthof the box, the mitered-ends of said strips beingpro- 'vided .wtihoffset projecting wings staggered .with

respect to one another wherebythe wings of each strip are adapted toextend back of the body of the juxtaposed strips to cause interfittingof said strips for the purpose of maintaining the exposed surfaces ofsaid strips in flush relation, and means for securing the strips andcorner angles to the walls of the box; 1

. 6. A box of the character described comprising four walls arranged inrectangular relation and'at least the bottom edge of each of which fourwalls is enclosed within a channeled wear strip adapted toembrace thelower edges of said walls, said strips extending for the full length andwidth of the box and mitered at their corners for'fiushabuttingrrelatiomrthe mitered end ofeach strip being provided with anoffsettongue projecting'under the body of the juxtaposed strip tomaintain'the exposed faces of the strip in the vicinity of the miter inflush relation with respect to one another, and means for securing saidstrips to the walls of the box.

'7. A box of the character'described comprising side and end wallsarranged in rectangular relation to'form the body of the box, wearstrips se- 30' marginal edge portions of all four walls of the box;.

8. A box of the character described comprising side andend walls, eachcomposed of superimposed slats abutting at their corners to form arectangular box body, a corner angle at each of the four corners of thebox provided at its top and bottom with tongues overlying the upper andlower edges of the walls of the box and recessed into the bottom edgesof said walls to produce a flush lower edge, wear strips ofsubstantially U-shaped cross section extending for the full length andwidth of the box and overlying the bottom marginal portions of the fourbottom slats and the corresponding portions of the corner angles andtongues, said strips being mitered at their ends and having offsetprojecting wings extending across the mitered joints and housed'inconcealed position between'the strips and the tongues of the cornerangles, and tie rods extending through the strips, tongues and theseveral slats in succession to secure the parts together, said stripsbeing countersunk to receive the ends of the tie rods.. 7

9. A box of the character described comprising side and end wallssecured to one anotherto form a rectangular box body, supporting wiresextending longitudinally of the box body and near the bottom thereof tosupport bottles rest-' ing thereon, and a brace extending transverselyacross the box and near the bottom thereof and' perforated for thepassage of the supporting qwires at right angles therethrough, saidbrace,

being provided at its opposite ends with perforated attaching lugs andthe opposite walls of the box being provided interiorly with horizontalof the side and end walls mitered with respect to:

abutments on'which said lugs are adapted to seat, andmeans for attachingsaid lugs to the opposite walls of the boxwith the lugs seated on saidabutments.

10. A box of the character described comprising side and end wallsarranged." in rectangular relation to form the body of the box, wearstrips secured to each of the four walls of the box and in face abuttingrelation to the lower edges of said walls, said wear strips extendinguninterruptedly for the full length and width of the box and mitered atthe corners of the box to provide collectively a four sided miteredframe extending uninterruptedly about the lower edge of the box and thecontiguous ends of adjacent wear strips having interlocking relationdirectly with each other.

11. A milk delivery box comprising side and end walls abutting at theirends to form the body of the box, a corner angle at each of thefourcorners of the box overlying the comer of the box and overlappingthe upper and lower edges thereof, wear strips covering the lower edgesof the four walls of the box and underlying and concealing the lowerends of the corner angles with contiguous ends of the strips of the sideand end walls directly interfitting with respect to ane another at thefour corners of the box, and extending for the full length and width ofthe box, and means for securing the wear strips to the walls of the box.

12. A milk bottle box comprising side and end walls forming arectangular box body, a plurality of supporting rods extendinglongitudinally of the box and near the bottom thereof to support theweight of bottles imposed thereon, correspondingly positioned upper andlower compartment rods extending longitudinally and transversely acrossthe interior of the box above the supporting rods to divide saidinterior into compartments for individual bottles, there beingincorporated in said box, in lieu of one' of the lower transversecompartment rods which is omitted, a unitary girder of greater heightthan the distance between the lower compartment rods and the supportingrods, said girder extending transversely across the interior of the boxand being perforated for the passage of the longitudinal supporting rodsand the longitudinal lower compartment rods at right anglestherethrough, and the opposite ends of said girder being individuallyrigidly anchored to the opposite walls of the box independently of anyand all transverse rods.

13. In a milk delivery box having side and end walls with supportingrods extending longitudinally of the box and near its bottom to supportthe weight of bottles resting thereon and having correspondinglypositioned upper and lower compartment rods extending longitudinally andtransversely across the interior of the box above the supporting rods, arelatively thin, deep, unitary girder incorporated in lieu of one of thelower transverse compartment rods which is omitted, said girder being ofgreater depth than the distance between the other lower compartment rodsand supporting rods and perforated for the passage of the longitudinalsupporting rods and the lower longitudinal rods at right anglestherethrough, and being sufliciently long to extend transversely acrossthe interior of the box, and means for securing.

' interior the box, and both of said means being independent of any andall transverse rods.

14. A milk delivery box comprising side and end walls forming arectangular box body, a. plurality of supporting rods extendinglongitudinally of the box and near the bottom thereof to support theweight of bottles imposed thereon, correspondingly positioned upper andlower compartment rods extending longitudinally and transversely acrossthe interior of the box above the supporting rods to divide said intocompartments for individual bottles, there being incorporated in saidbox, in lieu of one of the lower transverse compartment rods which isomitted, a unitary girder of greater height than the distance betweenthe lower compartment rods and the supporting rods, said girderextending transversely across the interior of the box and beingperforated for the passage of the longitudinal supporting rods and thelongitudinal lower compartment rods at right angles therethrough, andthe opposite ends of said girder being provided with attaching ears atthe upper portion of the girder, which attaching ears are riveted to theside walls of the box with individual rivets.

JOHN A. HOPWOOD.

